Savitribai Phule · Sanskrit Story
She Ran Towards the Plague
सा महामारीं प्रति अधावत्
Maharashtra State Archives; Hari Narke (ed.) — Savitribai Phule Samagra Vangmay; Colonial medical records, Pune, 1897 · Advanced
Pune Burns with Plague
सप्तनवत्यधिकाष्टादशशते (1897), पुणेनगरे महामारी आगता। प्रतिदिनं शतानि मृताः — दरिद्राः, शूद्राः, असहायाः। ब्रिटिशाः कठोरेण व्यवहरन्ति स्म — बलपूर्वकम् एकान्तवासः। सावित्री षट्षष्ट्या वर्षीया आसीत् — किन्तु उत्तिष्ठत्। "पीडिताः जनाः साहाय्यम् इच्छन्ति। अहम् अत्र अस्मि।"
In 1897, a plague (mahāmārī — महामारी) came to Pune city. Hundreds died every day — the poor, the lower-caste, the helpless. The British responded harshly — forced isolation (ekāntavāsa — एकान्तवासः). Savitribai was sixty-six years old — but she rose. "The suffering people need help. I am here."
Read the full story in Sanskrit
With vocabulary, grammar notes & pronunciation
Read on VedaLingo — Free →VedaLingo — Learn Sanskrit through Savitribai Phule stories, Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana, Mahabharata and more. Free Sanskrit learning app with pronunciation, grammar notes and moral stories.